SmallBusinessNewz

Here's a question for the brick and mortars. Are you providing a comfortable environment for your customers?

Temperature

As we get closer to the summertime, heat is going to become more of a factor for the comfort level of your customers, not to mention yourself and your employees.

Keeping your store at a reasonable temperature may not seem like a huge factor in the buying process, but I think many customers would disagree.

I've been in stores that were so hot it became nauseating, and I couldn't wait to get out.  I'm sure I'm not the only one with similar experiences.

If you want customers to stick around and shop, you'd do well not to drive them away by keeping you store feeling like an oven.

Offering your customers complimentary refreshments is a good way to help them beat the heat. I know a certain book store chain that offers free coffee to its shoppers. Why not offer a cold beverage? This will be a hit especially for those with whiny children. You may also want to consider outdoor sales and events.

Salespeople

Comfort is not just about the temperature, though. Comfort could be just giving your customers some space. If your sales staff is up in their face all the time, it is going to annoy them, unless they are looking to be helped.

I wrote an article on this subject the other day.

Space

Another issue could be the actual layout of your store. Try to space things out some. Do customers have enough room to move around comfortably? How about on a busy day? Even large chains like Wal-Mart and Meijer that have huge aisles get blocked up all the time.

Of course the amount of room you have in proportion to your inventory will play a role, but try to take this into consideration.

Organization

How easy is it to find items in your store? Do you have your goods well organized? Sure, having related items spread out all around the store may keep them browsing longer, but if it is to the point where they have to hunt around too much, convenience becomes a factor and could potentially be a deciding factor for them to go elsewhere next time.

Security

Do your customers feel safe when they shop at you store? What precautions are you taking to ensure this? Depending on where your store is located, this may have more or less of an impact on a customer's decision to shop there.

A comfortable environment doesn't include being overly secure though. People don't want to feel like you're looking over their shoulder the whole time they are shopping.

These are just some things to consider that can overall improve the way your customers feel about shopping at your store. Can you think of any other factors that could affect a customer's comfort level?